Visual Literacy Reflections

I couldn't get this song out of my head as I read the "Visual Literacy" chapter of The World of Art or while going through the study guide for this week. I was hoping that the promotional video made for the song would in some esoteric way have some bearing on what we learned this week and would be worth sharing. I think it does.



What I learned from this unit is that we seldom approach a work of art from the same point of view as the artist and that even when you know something about the culture that produced a work of art there is still going to be diverse opinions as to the meaning of the work. It easy for me to understand why critics had some difficulty interpreting the meaning of Judy Chicago's "Pasadena Lifesavers" as her own interpretation is so completely unique and personal that it's completely illusive to a viewer who hasn't read what she had to say about it. Even when there is some understanding of the symbolic meaning of certain images in the time of Jan Van Eyck, art historians still disagree on what is actually taking place in the painting.

The class discussion we had using Voice Thread demonstrated to me that each of us sees a work of art differently as well as interprets the meaning differently. Our interpretation of the form and the content is influenced by our own ethnocentric viewpoint. We may live in the same culture, but each of us has their own unique way of seeing things. When we look at something, we don't always see eye to eye.

I really liked the work of Ron Mueck. The way he uses scale is dynamic and dramatic. So much of the impact seems to come from how and where the work is displayed. "Big Man" is displayed in a corner and I couldn't help but wonder if the lighting on this sculpture was the choice of the artist or of the museum. The work would look very different and would be interpreted in other ways if it was displayed out of doors in a sculpture garden subject to the movements of the sun.

I was fascinated by the evolution of Mueck's "Pregnant Woman". The stand out moment in the process video was the destruction of the clay while making the mold. There is the danger in his creative process. If he isn't really careful, he may have to start all over again. Risky business making art. A bit like giving birth.

I was able to find some time this weekend to create a little art of my own. Using a few of the photos that I took at the wedding of my friend Dan Levinson, I made a music video using Final Cut Pro. The bride and groom gave all the guests a CD of some of their favorite songs and I picked the one that I thought expressed the mood of the day better than all the rest. Enjoy!